Thanks in part to RK128's far more comprehensive and in depth look back at the Sonic series, I've decided to come back to my old goal of playing through all the beatable games.
So to start, a link to my other Sonic R/LTTPs:
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic Heroes
Sonic 06
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonic 4: Episode 1
Sonic 4: Episode 2
Sonic the Hedgehog Game Gear
Sonic 2 Game Gear
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Blast
Sonic Labyrinth
Tails Adventure
Tails' Sky Patrol
Sonic Spinball Game Gear
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Spinball Genesis
Sonic CD
Sonic Unleashed Wii
Sonic Unleashed HD
Sonic Colors DS
Sonic Generations 3DS
Sonic the Hedgehog (3D Classics)
Anyway, though I'd played through it in the past, I figured I'd use the 3D classics as a nice excuse to go back through good old Sonic 2, this time forcing my way through with all the emeralds.
And I do mean forcing, as there are two things I needed to say screw it and use save states to lock myself in to being able to try in repetition. The first of these is the bonus games. Now, my childhood self found these to be the best of the original bonus games, but in retrospect... they're probably the worst. The tech just isn't there, making for slightly iffy hit connections (not usually a huuuuge deal, but getting all the rings when they're in a row next to one another is slightly finicky). And because of the "graphical flourishes" of the bending track in particular, it just often doesn't allow enough time to react. This is especially a problem in single player, as Tails SUCKS here. The slower reaction of the way he works means he WILL get hit, so god help you if he ends up with a decent chunk of the rings (or worse, in front of you). So yeah, this ends up in a LOT of trial and error, and considering a failure kicks you out here normally, I can't imagine a lot of kids managed to legitimately earn Super Sonic, at least without a second player there to help out, or a LOT of memorization and time put into this. I, meanwhile, brute forced it with save states as mentioned (IE dumped a save state at the start of the minigame and kept retrying until I got it).
As a result of all that... I had Super Sonic by Mystic Cave Zone. And while it's neat, I REALLY wish they had made the trigger to go Super a little more optional, as while it IS neat... it's honestly more of a hindrance than a help for the most part, especially considering most people who get it would get it late, IE just in time for Metropolis and Wing Fortress, where it's honestly a good bit of a pain more than anything else.
Now for the other thing I created a save state for: creating a save at the start of the Death Egg. And let me just say that I'm glad I thought to do so, as the Death Egg is just plain mean. It'll eat through your lives at a crazy pace until you get the pattern down. I mean, I get that it's supposed to be a difficult finale, but I really think the whole "no rings" thing was a mistake that drags the game down in a silly way, as that choice made it a serious spike that's more an exercise in memorization than anything else. Similarly silly: not putting a goal post between Silver Sonic (that's what this variant is called, right?) and the Death Egg Robo. As a result, you're sure going to grind Silver Sonic's movement patterns into your brain. And while he's intimidating at first (the whole "can't just jump normally on his head" thing, plus a pattern that'll probably kill you a few times before you realize "okay, it's spin, dash, spin jump, spin, spin, spin jump with spikes"), once you know the pattern he's a trivial time waster that'll only kill you if you get impatient and sloppy. As a result, I actually went into this playthrough with Silver Sonic's moveset still memorized from when I failed an attempt at beating the game a good while back, since the game just drills it into you. Oh, and the Death Egg Robo is a huge pain. Because it's legitimately challenging, you may ask? No, because the hit detection on those hands is at the very least finicky to get down because it's not visibly super clear, and honestly probably more than a little wonky in general. Oh, and the rocket hands will probably kill you at least once because they come out fast enough that you kind of have to know that happens rather than being able to react. So it's pretty much "frustrating as hell until you figure out the timing to not hit the hands, and then really super easy", which I wouldn't call a particularly good thing.
But yeah, other than that, it's an interesting and fun little game with a lot of great levels and especially tunes. Well, the pinball stuff in casino night is a little funky to control, but still. All in all I think I prefer 3(+K), but it's not a bad game at all. It's just that the ending is pretty BS and probably forced quite a few kids through the (honestly pretty easy outside of Wing Fortress) rest of the game a good number of times before they got the final boss down. Still, certainly not a bad little game, and it really does hold up quite well. And the 3D Classics version is of course a top notch port job that's easy to recommend.
So to start, a link to my other Sonic R/LTTPs:
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic Heroes
Sonic 06
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonic 4: Episode 1
Sonic 4: Episode 2
Sonic the Hedgehog Game Gear
Sonic 2 Game Gear
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Blast
Sonic Labyrinth
Tails Adventure
Tails' Sky Patrol
Sonic Spinball Game Gear
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Spinball Genesis
Sonic CD
Sonic Unleashed Wii
Sonic Unleashed HD
Sonic Colors DS
Sonic Generations 3DS
Sonic the Hedgehog (3D Classics)
Anyway, though I'd played through it in the past, I figured I'd use the 3D classics as a nice excuse to go back through good old Sonic 2, this time forcing my way through with all the emeralds.
And I do mean forcing, as there are two things I needed to say screw it and use save states to lock myself in to being able to try in repetition. The first of these is the bonus games. Now, my childhood self found these to be the best of the original bonus games, but in retrospect... they're probably the worst. The tech just isn't there, making for slightly iffy hit connections (not usually a huuuuge deal, but getting all the rings when they're in a row next to one another is slightly finicky). And because of the "graphical flourishes" of the bending track in particular, it just often doesn't allow enough time to react. This is especially a problem in single player, as Tails SUCKS here. The slower reaction of the way he works means he WILL get hit, so god help you if he ends up with a decent chunk of the rings (or worse, in front of you). So yeah, this ends up in a LOT of trial and error, and considering a failure kicks you out here normally, I can't imagine a lot of kids managed to legitimately earn Super Sonic, at least without a second player there to help out, or a LOT of memorization and time put into this. I, meanwhile, brute forced it with save states as mentioned (IE dumped a save state at the start of the minigame and kept retrying until I got it).
As a result of all that... I had Super Sonic by Mystic Cave Zone. And while it's neat, I REALLY wish they had made the trigger to go Super a little more optional, as while it IS neat... it's honestly more of a hindrance than a help for the most part, especially considering most people who get it would get it late, IE just in time for Metropolis and Wing Fortress, where it's honestly a good bit of a pain more than anything else.
Now for the other thing I created a save state for: creating a save at the start of the Death Egg. And let me just say that I'm glad I thought to do so, as the Death Egg is just plain mean. It'll eat through your lives at a crazy pace until you get the pattern down. I mean, I get that it's supposed to be a difficult finale, but I really think the whole "no rings" thing was a mistake that drags the game down in a silly way, as that choice made it a serious spike that's more an exercise in memorization than anything else. Similarly silly: not putting a goal post between Silver Sonic (that's what this variant is called, right?) and the Death Egg Robo. As a result, you're sure going to grind Silver Sonic's movement patterns into your brain. And while he's intimidating at first (the whole "can't just jump normally on his head" thing, plus a pattern that'll probably kill you a few times before you realize "okay, it's spin, dash, spin jump, spin, spin, spin jump with spikes"), once you know the pattern he's a trivial time waster that'll only kill you if you get impatient and sloppy. As a result, I actually went into this playthrough with Silver Sonic's moveset still memorized from when I failed an attempt at beating the game a good while back, since the game just drills it into you. Oh, and the Death Egg Robo is a huge pain. Because it's legitimately challenging, you may ask? No, because the hit detection on those hands is at the very least finicky to get down because it's not visibly super clear, and honestly probably more than a little wonky in general. Oh, and the rocket hands will probably kill you at least once because they come out fast enough that you kind of have to know that happens rather than being able to react. So it's pretty much "frustrating as hell until you figure out the timing to not hit the hands, and then really super easy", which I wouldn't call a particularly good thing.
But yeah, other than that, it's an interesting and fun little game with a lot of great levels and especially tunes. Well, the pinball stuff in casino night is a little funky to control, but still. All in all I think I prefer 3(+K), but it's not a bad game at all. It's just that the ending is pretty BS and probably forced quite a few kids through the (honestly pretty easy outside of Wing Fortress) rest of the game a good number of times before they got the final boss down. Still, certainly not a bad little game, and it really does hold up quite well. And the 3D Classics version is of course a top notch port job that's easy to recommend.
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